He is spot on about England. It's not that we can't play football or don't produce top players. It's the coaching structure from the bottom up that is totally wrong. When my lad was in Reading's elite academy, all they wanted were big, strong fast kids and my lad was released because he was getting "out-muscled too often". Messi would never have made it through our academies!! Until there is a major sea-change, we will never win anything, despite having the players to do so. 4-4-2 FFS!!
Totally agree col and it stems all the way down to primary schools and lack of any extra curricular sports and non competetive sports days. It is politically incorrect to install a winning mentality apparantly nowadays!
It's a complete cultural thing IMO Col We need to work on skills and confidence ... The expectations of the public aren't helped by the media In my time I had two games in my locker one from push and rush and tackling which was my main asset When I played in France I was booked as I never got the ball My game changed and I always had options and keeping the ball was paramount . More time and more skill won the day for me ... Back in the UK I was able to blend the two I watch kids today try the tricks but the game is far too manic still Make time on the ball never give it away ... As my old French coach drummed in me ... The other dude cannot score if they don't have the ball ! Of course I forgot to add that when you haven't got it depending on the score you don't chase to get it until you are in the right shape to press collectively ... Classic counter attack I watch English players jump in too often pushed on my an Anglo Saxon crowd to do so The modern player bite only when they have to ... We see that as lazy and continental The Fifa rules now favour the continental game and we have been caught out ... A all English team cannot adapt to this because we believe our game is still better We have to play 442 253 451 but more importantly we may need to play those in just one game! We need to invite teams on to us and contain them and never panic date I say it we need a David Luiz who is a very skilful footballer ... England's answer John Terry or Cahill Midfielders England was blessed and yet our next batch hasn't been coached correctly Lampard Gerrard Beckham Scholes could all control games on a world stage but every country I can think of also produces great players and replacements and competition England will pay the price for not bringing on the next batch as other nations like France Spain Brazil Germany etc etc all have new prospects waiting in the shadows with a **** load of confidence I ask who do England have ? Jack Wills of the Shire? Would he get into other sides ? Now the FA have a English coach then there is little chance IMO Woy looks clueless to me It's the old thing A rover pretending to be a Merc ... It's rotten right down to the flags on the Vauxhalls The players must be taught to completely express themselves at this level ... Like Gazza or the football will be doomed IMO
Thats just what I was referring to above - no responsibility or accountability taken by 'football people' (not you personally Bob, from everything you have posted on here its obvious you care passionately about this) but it's not the school's fault, its football's - the way our academies work, the emphasis on physique rather than raw skill, massive turnover of managers which means there is rarely continuity of thinking between the kids teams and the first team. In Italy and Spain there is virtually no school sport, yet they seem to have national teams which are regularly winners or runners up of the big tournaments.
I agree with much of this. Slowly things are changing, with small sided games for younger teams etc, but you still get parents yelling at 10 year olds to hoof the ball away from danger, rather than encouraging them to play their way out...the coaches are often just as bad! For what it's worth, I think Wilshire would get in most National teams, if he can stay fit!! Not sure all is lost with an English coach...Venables/Hoddle to name just two knew that teams had to have fluidity. As you say.......sides need to play ALL formations during a game at different times. The trouble with Woy is that he keeps us in a rigid 4-4-2 most of the time.
I did read recently that some of the academys are now targeting smaller skilful packet players rather than the big athletic ones so maybe there is some hope long term.
I'd agree with this, CD need to be comfortable on the ball, need to be able to distribute, which is something we seem to be lacking in England.
Don't agree re Jack at all that is all English hype he is no water carrier There will be 5 from Spain Brazil Argentina Africa and a few from Asia People worldwide follow the premier league but learn to play another game Take away the foreign players then it all folds in England Agree 100% with Tel and Hoddke who had the vision yet what did our culture do to them ... The media wait in the wings to stab anyone first chance they get and that has shaped culture in this country ... It is now ruined and we are a nation of over excited morons whose dreams and they are bloody dreams are crushed ever two years in the football tournaments .... It's on a knife edge qualification goes well then the expectation is we will win it poorly and we eat ourselves The only winners ... The media There is a false belief either way and of course this gets found out when it matters ... Hoddle understood this that it not about the football all the time it s about sometimes freedom of the mind and how you play football We are a angry nation and have got a lot worse ... The punch line to many jokes ... What we need we can't buy cheat or steal its how it is Saying that I believe England will do well in the World Cup because I think woy deep down let's players play he learnt that abroad and if he remembers it instead of being brainwashed by the daft FA .... It could all come good We have a few good players who if they overcome the stage fright could perform for 90 minutes together regularly and win something However what would happen then ? Coins stamps from petrol stations Churchill Sir Theo Walcott SP14 ... A 15 minutes speech from Barker and Big Ears? Then Brazil Germany and the entire world will adapt and win it collectively for the next 50 years while we still party preaching to the world that we invented the game The French/German and Brazilian will always invent a better team based on superior inner strengths
Luiz isn't a great defender however he is a very skilled footballer at 26 years old. I always like players that can play in midfield, control football matches and then drop into a back four if required. The UK CB is traditionally used to head back long aimless goal kicks or win headers against Andy Gray or Duncan Mckenzies. Being comfortable on the ball in a back four is essential today and I agree you need to crunch when you need to ... has England got these types of players? ... Rio maybe the closest and Anton maybe the furthest? ... could either of handled Sir Les?. Branislav Ivanovic is very skilful also ... no i do not like Chelsea but he recently showed how to handle a modern day striker to the point where he was half eaten in frustration. Luiz and Ivanovic, Rio and Vidic, Kompany and Nastasić ... one has to be able to play on the deck IMO
i agree in the top leagues but we need Samba types in the NPC where there arent many Suarez or Ageuro type players that are fast and shifty that play at CF. A also think Luiz would be as bad as Bosingwa is if he signed for us. Its ok playing for a team where you have nearly all of the ball. However he would become so exposed when defending all the time that his comfort on the ball would not make up for it.
